Round 1: Hunter Davenport on behalf of Big Boss from the Metal Gear Solid series

The year is 1935. Storm clouds are rolling in over Germany, The Great Depression is still roaring on, and Mussolini has begun an attack on Mongolia. The world is in great chaos. Fortunately for the world though, Somewhere in the heart of America the world’s greatest soldier was born. The man known simply as John would not fight in World War 2. He would instead fight in its aftermath: The Cold War and on August 2nd, 1964 John would embark on a Virtuous Mission and become the world’s most legendary soldier: Big Boss.

Now, while I may not be the most staunch Playstation All-Stars defender. I did log enough hours into it to care enough to be concerned by the absence of one of gaming’s most important franchises. Metal Gear Solid is essential to Playstation. It’s part of the life blood of the entire console line. If Sony were to make a Mount Rushmore of important people in Playstation history Hideo Kojima would be up there with Ken Kutaragi and Shuhei Yoshida. In my opinion the absence of his franchise is absolutely criminal. Which is why I am here today to rectify this slight.

Now, you might be wondering why I chose Big Boss to make his debut here in this Battle Royale and not Solid Snake. The answer is somewhat complex but I will do my best to condense my reasoning as to not go into a Metal Gear lord deep dive. The long and short of it is: Big Boss is the real deal. Everything about Solid Snake (right down to his DNA I might add) is to emulate Big Boss. He is the world’s most perfect soldier. He did everything Solid Snake could do without nanomachines.

Big Boss specializes in Close Quarters Combat or CQC. Go against him hand to hand and you are going to lose. Big Boss is also shown to be a master of almost any kind of gun or explosive you put in his hand. From a simple pistol all the way to plastic explosives. He also has very extensive survivalist skills. He is able to reset bones and apply other first aid necessities on the field. He is simply put the most adaptable fighter you will find on this bracket.

I will conclude my argument by saying this, I do not foresee any of the other fighters being presented having as much impact as Big Boss and Metal Gear Solid has had on Playstation History. Hideo Kojima’s story telling and characters will forever stand the test of time. Big Boss will always be the worlds most perfect soldier. His pedigree remains unmatched.

There are, of course, dozens of classic PlayStation icons from years past that I’m sure we would all like to see added to this roster. But if this hypothetical All Stars sequel were to release, it couldn’t be done so in a vacuum. The PlayStation 4 has introduced to us many new characters to fall in love with, and Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn is not only my favorite but has easily become one of the most recognizable faces in all of Sony’s stable of exclusives. So, it’s a no brainer to include her in this roster.

As for her moveset, the many bows, slings, and tripmasters that Aloy uses in the game would make her a perfect ranged character. Mechanically, she could play like a hybrid of Ratchet and Clank and Kratos from the original All-Stars. Utilize her Terablaster to bush back enemies like Ratchet’s Sonic Eruptor, use her Ropecaster to temporarily pin enemies down for an easy combo like Ratchet’s Tesla Spikes, or even use her bow to hit enemies at a distance like Kratos’s Bow of Apollo. Then use her Override Staff as her primary melee weapon for combos, and her grab ability could be her hacking into a character like she does to Watchers in the main game.

And her supers, oh boy her supers! They could be outstanding if they incorporate the different robotic creatures of the game. Just imagine it: Level 1 could her summoning a Snapmaw for a short range charge. Level 2 could be her summoning another mount for a brief ride as she fires her sling at enemies. And finally, Level 3 could bring in a Thunderjaw to completely decimate the other players in spectacular fashion.

So, that’s my pitch for the Queen of the Dinobots, Aloy. Seeing that Graydon and I already elected to remove the sole representation of Guerrilla Games with Colonel Radec from Killzone, Aloy’s addition would be the best way to continue to represent the developer. Not only has she become just as iconic, if not moreso, in much less time, but she’s also a much more widely loved character than anyone in Killzone ever was. And seeing that Horizon is one of the greatest games of the PS4 generation as a whole, it only makes sense to have her here.

Round 3: Fight!

So, who do you think deserves the spot more, Big Boss or Aloy? Vote in the Twitter poll embedded below, and follow @LosHarrowGames for the next match up!